Alastair Cook Signs New Contract With Essex

Essex batsman Alastair Cook has signed a two-year contract extension with the County, taking him up to the end of the 2011 season.

The England opener, whose existing deal was due to expire at the end of the 2009 campaign, has agreed to commit himself further to the Club with which he has spent his entire career to date.

The 23-year-old’s Essex appearances have been restricted since making his England debut in 2006, for whom he has already scored 2573 Test runs @ 42.88, including seven centuries.

Cook’s development as a one-day cricketer has also earned him a regular place in the limited-overs squad, with 22 One-Day International and two Twenty20 International appearances to his name thus far.

The left-hander played his part in Essex’s Friends Provident Trophy victory in 2008, scoring a crucial 95 in the semi-final against Yorkshire Carnegie at The Ford County Ground and 33 in a low-scoring Final triumph over Kent Spitfires at Lord’s.

Cook told the Essex CCC website (www.essexcricket.org.uk):

"I’m delighted to have signed a deal to continue my relationship with Essex County Cricket Club for the foreseeable future. I hope to play for England for as long and as much as I can but it’s important to have the support of everyone at Essex, who are a County moving forward very quickly under [Captain] Mark Pettini and [First-Team Coach] Paul Grayson.

"It’s nice that I’ve been able to secure my future before going away [with England] and hopefully Essex will always be there for me.

"Winning the Friends Provident Trophy at Lord’s [against Kent Spitfires in August] was undoubtedly one of my highlights of 2008. Having grown up playing for Essex since the under-12s it was a special moment and hopefully the first of many."